Corruption! It starts with Neta (Politician) and ends with Panch (Judiciary). Jhola, the Patrakar (Journalists) plays a vital role, a kind of lobbyist. Rest, babu (Bureaucrats), Lala (Corporates) and Dada (goons) survive remaining bad because they end up becoming lifeline for Neta and Panch. Jhola, the lobbyist want his/her cut in everything. Once someone refuses to hand over the cut, patrakar starts shouting bad things about him on air. In fact, among all of them Patrakar is a most dangerous specie as he knows the mood of aam aadmi (The common man) better than the rest. Aam Aadmi because of its proximity to Patrakar gets influence by him easily. And when Patrakar, the supposed to be an exposer merely start acting as a lobbyist, then that society is in a real crisis.
When Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, two larger than life patrakar of our country with millions of followers are exposed as mere lobbyists, you tend to believe that something is not right at all. Worse that Prime Time Media has decided to blackout this entire issue. Online media (blogs, prints and youtube) are the only source of information on this. Arnab, Rajdeep and Pranoy who love shouting on air and do not leave a single opportunity to repeat that they are the guardians of society have suddenly seem to gone in comma. I do not hear anything from them on journalists acting as lobbyists. Perhaps Vir and Barkha know too much about them...That's how it works in fact! They all are lobbyists and that's how they are there in the top. Neta and Panch need them. Pranoy and Rajdeep started as journalists some fifteen years ago. Today they are biggest media barons of our country. Where did the fund come from. Netas gave them so that they keep aam aadmi eluded.
We had cash throwing incident in parliament two years ago. Rajdeep Sardesai's IBN had done a sting opration on this. What happened to those tapes? They never came out? Why? I asked it several times to Rajdeep during online chats and he never chose to answer it. I mean journalists do a sting operation to expose corruption in the domain of common public, not to hand over the tapes to corrupt party. When you are handing over the tapes to the same guys whom you did your stings on, you so obviously are selling it. Le me say it in bold letters Rajdeep sold the sting operation tapes to the government...nothing else could be done with those tapes when you give it to government, the accused party. You are not a government agency. You are a free media who is there to expose wrongs. Your job is to report not to decide about the repercussions. Let the people do it. And when you decide to hand over the sting operations tape to culprits, you not only failed to do your job but you have chosen to be bought. And you must have bargained for a very good price...i am sure. Most shameful thing is that you decide to take a moral high ground after handing over the tape saying that you believe in responsible reporting. That shows what a fool you consider us, the aam aadmi! What a shame! You do not believe in reporting (moral or immoral) at all. Only thing you believe in is a paid news.
Let me dare you Mr. Rajdeep once again. If you are clean then come out and defend yourself in public domain. Your act hurts me most only because at some stage i had developed some amount of faith in you which i could never do for Barkha or Vir. I always knew that they are not a patrakar, but you too...huh...it does bloody hurt.
Anywhere else in the world had such allegation against any journalist with such a substantial proofs had come out, he would have been fired immediately. But, not in India. And who will fire them? They are not mere journalists. They are corrupt businessmen and women disguised in patrakar suit. They have stakes in their respective media houses. If they decide not to fire themselves, no one else can fire them. And forget firing, they are arrogant enough to ignore entire issue. They do not even bother to come up in front of camera at least once and clarify. If a politician or bureaucrat (who could not send commissions to patrakars...someone like kalmadi i will say) facing corruption cases decide to evade camera, these same people start shouting in such a high pitch on air that i have to put cartoon channel for my kids. Why camera become such a scary material when they face the same charges.
But again as i always say that in any democracy ultimately it comes to common people like me to decide about things. We the people (incidently Barkha's show) are the one who make these lobbyists a Patrakar. And we have the power to make them perish. I am sure that we will never watch them with same faith, but should we watch them at all? I am afraid, we do not have much choice unless we decide to watch only entertainment and sports channel.
